Toby Matthiesen – “The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent, and Sectarianism”
Knox Hall, Room 403 606 West 122nd StreetLecture by Toby Matthiesen to mark the publication of his latest book The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent and Sectarianism (Cambridge University Press, 2015) in which he traces the politics of the Shia in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia from the nineteenth century until the present day. Using little-known Arabic sources, extensive fieldwork in...
The Tunisian Democratic Transition in Comparative Perspective: With Reflections on Indonesia, India, and Egypt
International Affairs Building Room 1501, 420 W. 118th St., New York, NY, United StatesThe Tunisian Democratic Transition in Comparative Perspective: With Reflections on Indonesia, India, and Egypt March 27-28, 2015 International Affairs Building, Room 1501 420 West 118th Street Columbia University This event is free and open to all. Registration is not required. Sponsored by the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life and the Center...
CANCELLED – Adapting to Modernity or Taming It?
International Affairs Building Room 1501, 420 W. 118th St., New York, NY, United StatesUnfortunately, “Adapting to Modernity or Taming It?” has been cancelled. Colm Tóibín and Roy Foster in Conversation will still be taking place as planned in the Sulzburger Parlor. Immediately following “Adapting to Modernity or Taming It?,” at 6:15pm, the Writing Lives Series from the Heyman Center for the...
Sufism in India and Pakistan: Rethinking Islam, Democracy, and Identity
Knox Hall, Room 403 606 West 122nd StreetThe conference schedule and complete list of participants is now available here. Read presenters’ abstracts here. In contemporary politics, Sufis have been very much a part of the discourse, politics, and practice of Islam in the modern world. Western analysts often perceive Sufis as potential allies, and many incidents of violence against...
George Rupp – “The Power – and Limitations – of Individualism”
Buell Hall, Maison Francaise 515 West 116th Street, NY, United StatesRegister now at this link. Please Note: There has been a change of venue for this event. It will now take place in the Maison Française in Buell Hall. In his newest book, Beyond Individualism: The Challenge of Inclusive Communities, George Rupp pushes modern individualism beyond its foundational beliefs to recognize the place of communal practice...
Discussing with Michael Walzer: What Happened to National Liberation?
Library, Italian Academy 1161 Amsterdam Ave, NY, United StatesDiscussing with Michael Walzer: What Happened to National Liberation? A roundtable discussion on topics raised in Michael Walzer’s latest book, The Paradox of Liberation: Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions. Registration for this event is now full. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, you may add your name here or...
Religion and the Vote: The Role of Faith in Modern American Elections
International Affairs Building Room 1501, 420 W. 118th St., New York, NY, United StatesRSVPs are appreciated, but not necessary. Click here to RSVP. Religion influences American political and public life in a huge variety of ways, shaping foreign policy, economics, and social issues. We seek to understand how religion impacts the way in which candidates for political office engage these issues. Polls show that, in general, religious...
Psychedelics and Religion
TBAThe use of mind-altering substances in and spiritual contexts has a long history, from Vedic soma and Eleusinian kykeon to today’s recently resumed research on entheogens and religious experience. This conference will bring together the leading medical researchers in the field, leading experts in the history and contemporary worldwide and American culture of the use of entheogens,...
Intimacies: Days I & II
PLEASE NOTE: Location for Day 1 has changed to the Presidential Room at Columbia Faculty House Intimacies I: Sexualities in Contemporary Muslim Societies (April 13th, Presidential Room at Columbia Faculty House) Breakfast // 9:00am – 9:30am Opening Remarks // 9:30am – 9:45am Panel 1: Muslim Sexualities: Exploring Definitions and Concepts //...
Religion and Public Life Series: Hussein Rashid – Religion and the Digital Turn
80 Claremont Ave, 1st Floor Conference Room, NY, United StatesThe Religion and Public Life lecture series presents public conversations that expand on current theories and spur debate about religion and secularism, considering the range of secularisms and institutionalizations of religion in Europe, the US, and other parts of the world. Lectures in the series examine specific approaches to how something...
A History of Difference: Piety and Space in Early Modern West Asia (May 4th – 5th)
Sulzberger Parlor, Barnard Hall Room 101, 80 Claremont Ave., United States*Please note, this conference covers two days (May 4th-5th). Please, register with us on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-history-of-difference-piety-and-space-in-early-modern-west-asia-tickets-34215977911* This conference brings together scholars working broadly in Ottoman and Mughal pasts to converse, consult, and present what ways of thinking and doing difference are recoverable to us. This workshop will take as its objective...
Brokering Religion and Development: Ethnographic Approaches to NGOs
New York Knox Hall, Room 509, New York, NY, United StatesThe past decade has witnessed a remarkable surge of interest among both policy makers and academics into the effects that religion has on international aid and development. Within this broad field ‘religious NGOs’ or ‘Faith-Based Organizations’ (FBOs) have garnered considerable scholarly and professional attention, resulting in a flurry of surveys...